Once again, Tim Bowen covers himself in glory as he explains the collocates of this glorious word.

The noun glory is defined either as ‘admiration and praise from other people’ or as ‘great beauty’. With its first meaning, glory can either be personal, as in ‘He’s not interested in personal glory. What’s important for him is that the team keeps winning’ or it can be because of someone else’s success, in which case it is reflected, as in ‘He was still basking in the reflected glory of his wife’s success’.

You can get or cover yourself in glory, as in ‘Jones has hardly covered himself in glory in the few matches he has played this season’ and, once you have got it, you can bask in it or revel in it, as in ‘Lower Hartswood is still basking in the glory of winning the best-kept village award four years ago’.

Glory can last for a very brief period, as in ‘Everyone should have the chance to enjoy their moment of glory’ or it can be dramatic, as in ‘He decided to go out in a blaze of glory’. With its second meaning, glory can collocate with former to refer to great beauty that existed in the past, as in ‘The garden has now been restored to its former glory’. The phrasal verb restore to (usually in the passive) often collocates with the phrase former glory.

The phrase in all its glory or in all their glory can be used to emphasise the beauty of something, as in ‘The low cloud finally cleared and we could now see the mountains of the Caucasus in all their glory’.

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